Apple Bread Pudding

Years ago I worked in a grocery store in the deli dept ,we sold salads and desserts and that was the first time I ever tasted Apple Bread Pudding. I liked it back then ,but never made it homemade.   To Read More, Click On The Recipe Title.

So I decide if I liked it in the deli where it was made somewhere else, mass produced ,how much better would it be homemade. Well let me tell you how good this is. I of course couldn't wait till it was cooled off, (I probably have calluses on my poor tongue from my impatience). This was light as a feather, which surprised me, don't ask me why but it did. It's not overly sweet, everything just came together very well to make a wonderful dessert. See that brown sugar? It's wonderful on top of the bread pudding! It makes this dessert.



I looked at quite a few recipes that had different ways of making this. Some recipes have a sauce that goes on top of the bread pudding, some bread puddings are made in a water bath, ingredients are pretty much up for grabs, I've seen just milk, some have half and half and others are made with cream and what ever you'd like to spice it up with. The original recipe for this came from Star Chef's .Com and was posted and adapted from Chef Waldy Malouf's cookbook The Hudson River Valley Cookbook. This recipe doesn't have a sauce that you make to put on top of it, the sauce is made from the brown sugar that you put on the bottom of your casserole dish. The recipe didn't have any cinnamon in it, I fixed that real quick and added 1 tsp to the milk mixture. I also added an extra tsp of vanilla. The recipe called for milk but I used 2 cups of cream and 1 cup of milk. I couldn't resist putting my own spin on it. The recipe doesn't call for it but I baked this in a water bath, it took a little more time in the oven but was well worth it! After I put the milk mixture over the bread and apples I let it sit for about 10 minutes so the bread soaked up the cream. This is what It looked like out of the oven.




I really liked this recipe but since I was thinking about making it for the restaurant I took it to work to get the wait staff's opinion, everyone was in agreement it was very very good! One of the younger girls even asked for the recipe. I also gave samples to my favorite customers and they can't wait till I make it. You just can't believe how good bread , apples, cream and brown sugar can be until you try this! Since I'm always talking about the restaurant I decided to take pictures tonight after we closed.



If you're from Pennsylvania or the surrounding states you may remember a restaurant chain called Dutch Pantry. This use to be one of those restaurants, the owner worked for them and when they decide to close this restaurant he bought it. This room is what was smoking up until the beginning of the month when Pa. went nonsmoking. The Tiffany lamps were handmade years ago by someone local.




This room is what use to be nonsmoking, it was added on to the restaurant after the owner bought it.. The owner got the wood for the add on from an old barn that was being torn down. The lamps in this room are all Tiffany Lamps as well.




See the sign that says General Store, that's our teeny weeny bar! Nobody ever sits in there they have they're drinks at they're tables. Ok enough about the restaurant on with the recipe!


Apple Bread Pudding

Adapted from Chef Waldy Malouf's cookbook, The Hudson River Valley Cookbook, Harvard Common Press, 1998

The pudding can stand by itself or it can be served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Serves 6 to 8

4 or 5 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

A 7 or 8 oz. loaf French-style bread, sliced

2 Jonagold or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 cups milk ( I used 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk)

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract ( I used 2 tsp vanilla)

I tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Butter a 2 quart casserole or souffle dish and spread the brown sugar evenly over the bottom. Butter the bread generously, stack it, and cut it into 2 inch squares. Toss the bread with the apples and put them in the casserole on top of the sugar. Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla together and pour over the bread. Bake the pudding 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking time varies with the depth of the baking dish. The brown sugar will have melted into a delicious caramel; be sure to include some of it in each serving.

( I baked this in a water bath, the baking time increased to about an hour.)